Today was the day that Ellie officially became the adopted daughter of Brad and Colleen Mortensen. The event was held in the Official Board Room of the State Adoption Ministry. Brad, Colleen and Ellie stood before a very red velvet curtain that had a very official seal in the middle.
After the adoption ceremony we all traveled to the Immigration Bldg. to be officially permitted to leave the country. When we arrived there were rows of metal seats ahead and behind a glass wall were several stations that had electronic signs with the station number above each Immigration Official. When the recorded voice came on over the PA system and offered help at a numbered window, I could swear that I was in the DMV, no kidding it was strange!
This process proved to be very quick and we were soon on our way back to the hotel for lunch.
After lunch we returned to the van and headed for Ellie's orphanage. Took about 45 min. and the buildings along the way were very interesting, some big and some not so big, but all were so very similar. Concrete is the basic building material with a great deal of tile as the finished material on the exterior.
When we pulled up to the gate at the orphanage, Ellie became quite excited and could not wait to get our of the car to visit. Everyone was very excited to see Ellie one more time. Around 48 kids call this home, but only 16 are allowed in the playroom at a time.
Ellie was right at home and all the kids were happy to see her. Hannah and Essie fit right in, but after a while you could see that Essie was feeling a little bit like second fiddle with all the attention that Ellie and Hannah were getting. Soooooo we had a little melt-down that only lasted a short while. After all of this calmed down we said our good byes and headed out for the van. No one was quite sure how this would go and we were prepared for the worst, but alas that was not to be. Ellie waved goodby and took Norene's hand and marched right down the steps and into the van. Needless to say we were as much surprised as relieved.
Later that evening we met up with another family here from Alabama who are adopting. We all went to dinner in the hotel and the table ended up with everything from burgers and ribs to Dim Sum and BBQ shrimp. Another fine day brought to a fitting close.
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